Black Sun & White Moon II: How Love Became Greater Than Light
by the-lionness
Summary: The story of the one named The King & the one named The Queen and what they found in a dark sky... IchiRuki AU


The sun and the moon have always existed, from time immeasurable.

But…in a moment now forgotten to all others, the sun and the moon were the only light to exist in the dark sky.

The sun, the fire of gold, was tethered to a heavenly chain and made to travel an arc above the earth; and the moon, the glowing white stone, was set in a path around the earth's rim. They existed for the amusement of The Gods, who looked from Heaven to watch all things with shape and form live out their sole purpose in life. And they were for the use of The People, who each lived without care for one another, but all depended on the sun to grow their crops and on the moon to ease them into gentle rest.

The one who stood alone on a platform and held the sun's chain to make it rise and fall was called _The King_. Long ago he had grown unafraid of the flames that tanned his skin, signed the ends of his long, black hair, and charred his robes until blackened tatters, like bandages, remained. The King knew of the sun's importance, but stood in its shadow and looked upon its light with dull eyes.

The other who held the moon was deemed _The Queen._ It was her purpose to walk along the path that encircled the earth with the glowing white stone raised high in her hands. Its chalk had long since covered her robes, fingertips, and toes in glittering white dust, and its quiet brilliance had lightened her short hair and wide eyes to a beautiful hue of silver, though none who were enamored with the moon itself knew of this. And like The King, The Queen only came to learn of the moon's beauty and its cool, blank surface.

And all was as it had been from time immeasurable.

Until there came the moment they found each other in the sky.

The King saw The Queen first, for in witnessing the sun's final descent, his gaze went beyond the black sky where its flames could not touch and he saw a light he had never before beheld, and another like him who he had never known existed.

…And maybe it was The King's gaze that made The Queen look away from the moon and find him in the thick darkness with flames she had never seen before at his feet.

Nothing The King and The Queen had felt before could be compared to discovering one other. _Has she always walked around me?_ The King wondered. _How long has he stood there alone?_ The Queen questioned with a curious look to her eyes.

Curiosity was only satisfied through staring; staring made them familiar to one another. The King saw that the light of the moon was beautiful in a delicate way, a kind of beauty that was to be treated with gentle hands. But the same should not have been said of The Queen herself: she possessed a beauty that was alluring to him; but he also saw her strength. It was there in the cradle of her hands and in the footsteps she made along her path…and he could not look away from it.

And she, The Queen, saw the sun's light. Of course she did: the moment she realized it existed, she could only imagine its heat against her skin, so unlike anything she had ever known. The flames of gold seemed to exist in defiance of the dark sky itself. It possessed the ability to burn, to hurt, and it was The King's hands that kept it from doing so. The King was strong: she saw that in his bandaged hands taut around the heavenly chain, in the movement of his body as he tamed a great fire. But above all, she saw his gentleness, his want to keep all beings safe.

They began to change. Her footsteps grew lively for him and quickened into a dance that made puffs of dust rise under her feet. She spun; she jumped; a smile spread across her beautiful face. And The King's eyes began to shine. Gone was the dullness that he once viewed all he could ever hope to see above the earth. To look at The Queen, to see her move and turn and look upon him as much as he did her, brought him joy. He too began to smile—it came naturally to him.

Their understanding of one another grew more and more; yet the things they could not know made them eager to learn. For one to watch the other hold a chain or dance about only heightened into a desire to know how the other felt, and then a craving to have the things they wished for be fulfilled.

Those feelings of familiarity, knowing, curiosity, desire, and longing began to blend together. They strengthened, becoming richer in flavor, brighter in color, and deeper and vaster than the sky itself. And then those things became something altogether different, something that had not existed before:

Love.

Love, in that moment of time immeasurable, became something that was at once wonderful and unbearable. The King and The Queen were unable to stand being apart. A chain in hand and the light of golden fire were not enough no longer to hold his gaze or attention. A path that neither began nor ended made her restless; and the weight and cool surface of a stone failed to keep her warm.

They appealed to all who beheld the light of the sun and the moon.

 _"I wish to raise her before my eyes. I wish to be close to her and feel the hands that touch the cool stone called 'the moon' in mine,"_ The King said out into the darkness for The Gods and The People to hear…

 _"I wish to hold him. I wish to be near him and stand under the fire he holds, the flames of that called 'the sun,'"_ The Queen said into the blackness of the sky for The Gods and The People to hear…

 _"I love her…"_

 _"I love him…"_

The Gods heard the words of The King and The Queen and saw the ways they had changed because of Love, but they did not understand. _"We cannot see Love, but The King and The Queen do."_ They whispered to one another in jealousy. _"And look at what Love makes them do! They no longer think of their purpose of keeping the sun and the moon, and now wish to abandon it."_

The People heard The King and The Queen, but could only think of themselves. They did not understand Love, but the desire The King and The Queen had towards one another made them fearful and angry. _"How will our crops feel the heat of the sun if you no longer swing it to its highest peak in the sky? How will we ever feel the comfort of the cool air without the moon?"_ they asked.

The People, in their fear and selfishness, cursed Love and The King and The Queen.

And The Gods, in their jealousy, set to punish The King and The Queen. The chain The King grasped became thicker and heavier. The task of lifting it above his head was almost impossible and made his jaw clench with effort and took the joy from his eyes. The Queen was given a pair of okobu heavy enough to make walking a near difficult task. No longer could she dance across the sky. And their eyes were fixed to the light so that would no longer stare at one another.

But…Love was not something they could easily forget, and to be without it caused The King and The Queen untold grief.

The King, whether by accident or in defiance, chose not to lower the sun and left its fire to hang in the highest point in its arch. No longer did he feel joy or solace, just emptiness. He cried out in anguish, and his breath formed thick, gray clouds. His tears fell from the dark sky and fell to the earth as rain.

Each time The Queen heard The King's cries, her fingers dug into the surface of the moon, forming craters. The need to be with him was greater than she could bear. She no longer had the will to move, and so she stood still. She too, cried, and the breath from her sobs made clouds above the earth. Tears fell from her silver eyes, and every drop that fell to the earth made snow.

The People, who had never witnessed rain, could only watch as the water washed away their homes and crops, and the snow blanket the lush grasses and trees in unyielding, wet coldness. They ran for shelter. Their voices cried out to The King: _"Return to us The Sun! Give us back the warmth of its light!"_ And they cried out to The Queen, _"Please give us back the moon! Please give us its beauty!"_

But The King and The Queen did not do these things.

The People were cramped, cold, and wet…and yet, for the first time, they looked around and truly saw one another. They all came to realize that all equally depended on the sun and the moon and without them, there was nothing to bring warmth or ease and the reason for that was because The King and The Queen were without Love. They asked one another the same question, _"How can The King and The Queen believe Love is greater than Light?"_

One person answered, _"Maybe Love is brighter and warmer than Light,"_ to which some of The People agreed.

Another said, _"Maybe Love is more beautiful than Light…maybe it brings ease and comfort,"_ and still a few others agreed.

Around and around the conversation went, and The People all spoke in familiar disharmony. Each side was adamant that their answer was the correct one, and the other side was wrong.

But then one voice spoke up: _"Maybe Love is not one thing, but_ _all_ _those things. Maybe it is bright_ _and_ _warm_ _and_ _beautiful_ _and_ _comforting."_

The People ceased fighting one another and fell silent. The answer seemed to be so simple, and yet, so grand an idea. _"…How would we be able to tell?"_ They asked one another…

And then... _"Maybe we'll be able to tell when we try and feel it._

 _"But how?"_

None of The People could find the answer, but it was all they thought about. The rain fell and they shared the bit of food they had among one another; the snow fell, and they held on to one another for warmth. At times, one or some or all of them laughed, and the sound of it filled their bellies and chests.

They grew familiar with one another. They began to truly know one another and found that in being together, they found both a brightness and warmth that they had never experienced before.

And it was comforting.

And it was beautiful.

It was Love.

Love became visible to their eyes, and they changed because of it. The People not only saw Love in one another, they now understood The King and The Queen and their Love. They could no longer ignore the cries of The King and The Queen. In one voice, they spoke to The Gods: _"Please! Please! Let The King and The Queen be together! Let them share in the Love they have!"_

The Gods were surprised. _"You, The People, asked us to keep The King and The Queen apart so that Love would keep you from feeling the light of the sun and the moon. Now in darkness and starvation, you ask Us to change our ways._

 _"Why?"_

 _"Before, we knew and felt so little, but now we understand Love. With Love, we feel all the things the light of the sun and the moon gave us. And now that we can feel all those things, we see what The King and The Queen see."_

 _"You see Love?"_ The Gods asked.

 _"Yes,"_ The People answered.

 _"…Can it be compared to the vision of Light?"_

 _"It is the greatest sight to ever exist."_

The Gods, upon hearing the words of The People, determined that Love had to be witnessed. They turned to The King and The Queen and said, _"We will allow you to be together, but only if you show us how Love is the greatest sight to ever exist—even greater than Light."_

And with that, they made a new path in the sky.

The King watched The Queen run to him with the moon in her hands. With every step she made, the dust her footsteps and robes left behind covered the path in glittering whiteness above the earth. They neared and The Queen watched The King let go of the heavenly chain. The Gods who witnessed this feared that it would fall, but after remaining in one place for so long, the sun neither budged nor moved.

With joy in his heart, The King held The Queen in his hands and raised her above him so that he could look at her beauty. She asked him to dance, and he spun her around and smiled as she laughed and raised the moon higher than it ever had ever been before.

Never had he felt so soothed; never had she felt so warm.

 _"I love you,"_ they said to one another. And they kissed, with the glow of the moon between them and the fire of the sun above their heads.

The Gods looked on and beheld the meeting of the sun and the moon's light. The fire of the sun pressed against the cool surface of the moon, turning the white, dimpled stone golden yellow; and the glow of the moon eclipsed the sun's flames and formed a bright ring of white.

The Gods, who saw all, were transfixed at what stood before them, the meeting of gold and white, of fire and glitter. It was truly nothing that they had seen before.

It was Love…and it was truly the greatest sight to ever exist.

The hands of The Gods captured the Light in that moment and scattered it across the dark sky to create the stars.

The fiery sun, forever affixed to its highest point in the sky, and the beautiful moon, forever cratered and marred, were bound to either end of the heavenly chain and made to move forever until the chance meeting when they again cross paths so closely.

And the ones known as The King and The Queen were freed. In the Love they had found, lost, and regained, they took to the dark sky.

And so they have remained, dancing among the Light where they and their Love been best felt and witnessed from time immeasurable.

* * *

 _A/N: I was inspired by the "Dance with Snow" White meme that popped up in the IchiRuki fandom. (My favorite was this absolutely gorgeous one done by johannathemad!) At the time, I just finished a chapter from_ _The Grains of Sand Hold the True Destinies_ _about Mugetsu and Rukia-as-Shirayuki, and really felt inspired to participate even though I can't draw. But, I hit a wall for several reasons—namely because there were so many things I wanted/needed to do in writing about Love and Light; The King and The Queen and their characters as separate embodiments of Ichigo and Rukia (the OTP!); and The Gods and The People as unique antagonists._

 _Also, I didn't want to deviate from the pattern of "the sun [and then] the moon," "The King [and then] The Queen," and "The Gods [and then] The People" too much. And_ _then_ _I also wanted the tone more fable-like with explanations about why rain/snow exists and why the moon has craters and the first eclipse._

 _Honestly, there were several times when wanted to be a full-length fanfic, and I was fighting against that (although, who knows)._

 _But anyway, I'm rambling. Just enjoy and please leave a review. This is a one-shot, so I will likely not be building on this specifically._


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